Merian Global Investors

Merian Global Investors

Merian Global Investors was formed in 2018 when CEO Richard Buxton and the management team completed a buyout of Old Mutual Global Investors' single-strategy asset management business, backed by private equity firm TA Associates. The transaction severed the unit from Old Mutual Wealth, creating a standalone partnership focused on active fund management across equities, fixed income, and alternatives. The firm inherited a large book of UK retail and institutional mandates, including the well-known Old Mutual UK Alpha Fund, which Buxton had personally managed for over a decade. The firm's strategy spans long-only equity funds—particularly UK and European equities—alongside global fixed-income products and a growing alternatives platform that includes absolute-return and multi-asset funds. Merian's fund range has historically clustered around high-conviction, benchmark-agnostic stock-picking, a philosophy Buxton championed. Geographically, the investment teams operate primarily out of London and Manchester, covering developed European and UK markets. While direct co-investments are not a stated focus, the firm distributes funds through UK wealth managers and institutional channels. At launch, Merian employed approximately 200 professionals, including portfolio managers, analysts, and distribution staff inherited from Old Mutual. TA Associates acquired a minority stake as part of the buyout, providing institutional backing without diluting partner control. By mid-2019, reports emerged that the firm was exploring a sale amid performance challenges and Buxton's own announced departure in June 2019. In June 2020, Merian agreed to be acquired by Jupiter Fund Management for approximately £390 million, folding its fund range into Jupiter's larger platform (per Investment Week, 2020). Merian's structural differentiator was its brief window as a listed-level UK asset manager carved from a larger insurance group, operating as a pure-play active management partnership. The speed with which it pivoted from independence to acquisition by Jupiter—within two years of launch—underscored the difficulty mid-sized active managers faced retaining assets amid fee compression. Its integration into Jupiter consolidated Buxton's former UK equity team under a larger distribution umbrella, effectively dissolving the standalone Merian entity by late 2020.